Online Casinos

March 4, 2015 - Before the internet, and high-tech online casinos, there was only one kind of casino - the bricks and mortar kind.

Prior to 1994 in South Africa, gambling fans had to make do with just one casino (Sun City), while post 1994, the land casino floodgates were opened with the result that today most of the country's major city centres boast at least one land casino for gambling fans to frequent.

But while South African land casinos continue to attract players, they've had to contend with the introduction, indeed explosion, of online casinos onto the local gambling scene, a highly formidable rival considering online gambling is widely perceived to be one of the most entertaining, convenient and popular internet activities there is.

Online Casinos Altered SA Gambling Landscape

To suggest that online casinos have changed the South African gambling landscape is a gross understatement. When online casinos made their debut around twenty years ago, they, like the internet, were still very much in their infancy, and as such were for the most part sluggish, unstable and unreliable.

This meant that online gambling in South Africa was slow to take off. However, breakthroughs in broadband technology meant the internet was becoming increasingly faster, safer and more cost-effective for the average user.

In fact, it wasn't long before most middle to upper income households in the Western world could boast at least one computer with access to the internet, with tech-hungry South Africans hot on their heels.

SA Online Casinos are Flourishing

Where a few short years ago only a handful of online casinos accepted players from South Africa, today the majority of internationally popular casinos welcome South Africans and even offer rand (ZAR) as one of their currencies.

In addition, a slew of South African-focused online casinos have emerged that are signing up droves of players due to their uniquely South African themes.

That and their generous welcome bonuses, vast game selections, regular and exciting promotions, lucrative payouts and jackpots, and 24/7 customer care facilities manned by friendly and professional staff primed to handle any questions, queries or requests.

The Best SA-friendly Rand Casinos

Here on www.SouthAfricanCasinos.org.za, you'll find only the best examples of South African-friendly and South African-focused online casinos. Our intrepid team of 'rand casino seekers' have been hard at work searching for both kinds of rand casinos.

Unlike SA casinos online, which are only available in English and ZAR, these casinos are available in a wide variety of languages and currencies. The thrill of playing at one of these sites is that even though you can't see them, you'll be playing your favourite games alongside gamblers from across the globe.

How Land and Online Casinos Differ

The question most often asked by South African gamblers thinking of giving rand online casinos a go is what are the main differences between land casinos and online casinos?

This is a great question that can be quickly and easily answered: The biggest and most important difference of playing at an online casino versus a land casino is convenience.

With online casinos you can play curled up on your bed, lying on your favourite couch, seated at your dinning room table, leaning in your kitchen, relaxing next to your pool, stretched out at your local park or at your office during your lunch break.

What could be more convenient than playing casino on your own terms in your own environment versus having to drive, park and walk into any land casino, and then possibly having to queue to play your favourite slot, video poker, card or table game?

Online Casinos Offer Big Bonuses

Another great difference between these two types of casino is how they reward you for your loyalty.

If you play often enough at a land casino, you may be in line to receive a free meal voucher or an accommodation voucher, a ticket to see a show, concert or sporting event as well as other various 'freebies.' This is known as being 'comped' and is a land casino's way of showing how much it appreciates your loyalty and custom.

Online casinos, however, do things differently. They offer 'comps' to each and every new real money player in the form of welcome or sign up bonuses. These are typically percentage-based casino bonuses that are worked out on the size of your initial deposits.

An example of a rand casino welcome bonus is 100% up to R1,500 free.

What this means is that when you make your initial deposit (i.e. your very first deposit after signing up at the casino), if you choose to claim your free bonus you can double your playing funds up to R3,000. For instance, if you deposit R1,000, you'll receive R1,000 in free bonus cash for a grand total of R2,000 in real money playing funds.

Deposit R1,500 and you'll be looking at a total of R3,000 in playing funds. While welcome bonuses may not be the same as free meals or hotel rooms or tickets, they are by far the easiest way to pump up your playing funds, and hopefully bring you closer to your biggest payday yet.

Rand Casinos Online are Discreet

One of the most appealing differences between land and online rand casinos is privacy and discretion. Even if you're a high roller at a land casino, and are discreetly whisked around the property to the most exclusive Privé facilities, you still have to interact with casino staff and other patrons.

But in the case of online casinos, you are constantly protected by state-of-the-art security software and encryption systems and a username of your choice which means you can play online around the clock with complete peace of mind that your sessions are completely private and discreet.

That is unless you're playing at online casinos using your laptop while seated in a crowded restaurant and you cry out 'YES PLEASE!' when you hit a R10-million jackpot!